


Everyone Has a Special One

by bigkaibalover (bigyugilover), bigyugilover



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: 2003 quizilla vibes, Drama, F/M, Original Character(s), Romance, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigyugilover/pseuds/bigkaibalover, https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigyugilover/pseuds/bigyugilover
Summary: Marissa Cleo Itchlen thought that the most stressful part of her year would simply be starting at a new college, trying to make new friends, and avoiding the typical dramas that naturally came associated with ones' late-teens and early twenties. When she receives a mysterious family heirloom from her grandmother and begins to learn about the rapidly-changing and complex world of a popular children's card game however, her life changes forever...
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Original Female Character(s), Kaiba Seto/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1: Introductions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bigjoeylover (bigyugilover)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigyugilover/gifts).



> I wrote this as a joke for a friend who remembered an old Quizilla fanfiction from like 2007 called 'An Affair with Seto Kaiba' that we have been unable to find anywhere online. I wrote this for her instead. Vaguely inspired by AAWSK. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I am mid-way through season 2 of watching Yu-Gi-Oh for the first time ever... I know nothing and am very confused.

First day at a new school, transferring already partway into an _ongoing semester_ , and already running late? Unbelievable! Why hadn’t I gone to bed earlier last night? I groaned, rubbing an eye tiredly as I pulled one heavy backpack strap over a shoulder. I made my way out into the living room of the apartment which I shared with my roommate and long-time friend, Misa. “Misa! I’m late already,” I lamented as I caught sight of her sitting on the couch. She offered a sympathetic smile and shooed me towards the door. Scratching the head of Freddy as I passed by — one of the two cats we shared the apartment space with — I sighed and waved goodbye as I hurried out the door. Living close enough to campus to walk there had seemed like such a good idea when I’d first moved here, but now running to class certainly seemed worse than driving in or grabbing an uber… 

Nevertheless, at least the sun was out! There were puddles on the ground from the previous night’s rain, but the temperature was tolerable. Speed-walking the half-mile to campus, I was so entirely focused on my destination that I didn’t notice the large, black limo speeding up beside me, striking one of the puddles as it went. Dirty water splashed off the pavement, splattering my jeans and book bag. Shrieking and jumping back, I cursed at the limo and its apparently-terrible driver, before straightening the grip on my now-dirty bag and continuing along towards campus. 

Miraculously only five minutes late for class, and somehow able to simply sneak into the back of the classroom without initially being noticed, I cursed when my toe struck the edge of a desk, drawing eyes and the professor’s withering gaze back to me. “Miss. Itchlen, I take it?” the man greeted, straightening his glasses and lowering the dry erase marker from the board where he had been writing the day’s assignment. “Good of you to join us — I believe that completes our attendance list for the day. Why don’t you take a seat over here by Mr. Kaiba?” He motioned generally towards the last remaining open seat near a man that appeared to be sulking there, jotting something down in his open notebook as the professor continued on his lesson for the day. 

Letting out a sigh of relief at having at least made it to class before being able to miss too much, and without apparent serious retribution, I made my way towards the table where Mr. Kaiba sat. He hadn’t looked up once from his notebook, and as quietly as possible I sat down my dirtied book bag and began preparing for the day. 

_Oh god_ , I realized with a start, dread immediately filling me at the absolute horror that was quickly developing as I unpacked my backpack on the tabletop. I had notebooks, extra paper, a calculator, erasers, a hole punch and hole protectors, and even a snack for later, but nothing to write with? 

I had to still be dreaming! Horrified I glanced around, to no avail. Mr. Kaiba seemed to be pointedly ignoring my internal struggle, and with a silent groan, I debated between missing information or disrupting the already-unpleasant person sitting beside me. I had just opened my mouth to begin to ask when his dark eyes shifted to meet mine. The glare I received was enough to stop me in my tracks, and feeling slightly mortified — perhaps unreasonably — instead, I settled back and committed myself to try and memorize as much as I could, with the intention of writing it down later. How hard could college algebra be?

Pretty hard, I began to realize quickly, considering that math had never come quite so easily to me and was far from my area of interest. A too-loud _psst_ behind me nearly caused me to jump in surprise. Attempting to avoid any further disruption, carefully turning my head to glance over one shoulder. A fresh-faced boy sat there, with multi-colored spikes of hair going every-which-way. Attempting not to judge the hairstyle too harshly, I raised an inquisitive brow in his direction. 

He held up a spare pencil, and with a kind smile silently extended it out to me. Taking it gingerly, I couldn’t help but smile back at the act of kindness. Suddenly, his hair didn’t seem quite so stupid. Perhaps it still was, but my thoughts at least weren’t actively and vehemently questioning his judgment on it…

With the new writing utensil that felt in this situation almost like a sinking lifeboat in the middle of a endless sea, thankfully the remainder of the class went by without any further significant incident. It ended with a flurry of chattering amongst students and zipping of bags as everyone packed up to leave. Zipping my own bag shut, I glanced up to catch sight of the spiky-haired boy once again. Pushing my chair back and standing up, I moved to hand the pencil back to him. “Oh! Sorry — here’s this back. Thank you again. _Total_ lifesaver.” 

The boy grinned and waved it off, shrugging. “It’s no problem, you can keep it for your next class! I’m happy to have been able to help.” I heard Mr. Kaiba make a noise from behind me that sounded almost like a derisive snigger but decided to ignore it. What an absolute wanker. “I’m Yugi, by the way,” the nicer boy was saying, holding one hand out to shake mine by way of introduction.

“Marissa,” I answered warmly, struck suddenly with surprise at how short the boy was once standing up. His hair added five inches to his height alone, minimum, and even that barely put him at five foot. I bit my tongue, holding back any comments that might be tempted to burst forth the longer I stared at the stranger and spiky ‘do, instead keeping my smile steady as he grinned back at me. 

“Nice to meet you, Marissa!” Yugi was saying, turning to glance over his shoulder at his seat-mate — a taller blonde boy with large brown eyes. “This is my best friend, Joey.” The blonde boy smiled as well and offered a wave in my direction. He was cute, I couldn’t help but notice as I turned and waved back energetically. “It’s nice to meet you guys… I’m new here, so I don’t know too many people, yet,” I began to say, words tumbling from my mouth for lack of something better to say. “I’m glad to at least know someone in my first class,” I added lamely, raising one hand to the back of my neck. 

Feeling immediately embarrassed, I was thankful when Joey laughed, slipping one arm into his backpack as he beamed in my direction. “I’m glad Yuge stepped in, then! Kaiba’s not the friendliest desk-mate,” Joey added, causing the group to inexplicably glance in the aforementioned boy’s direction. He had overheard Joey’s comment, judging by the glare he was sending back in our direction. He muttered something under his breath before storming out of the classroom, his long jacket billowing behind him as he left. Cheeks flushed red in embarrassment, I turned away. “I can see that,” I said finally, shaking my head as I double-checked the desktop to ensure that I hadn’t left anything behind. 

“Where’s your next class, Marissa?” Joey was asking as I pushed my chair in. Glancing back up at him I paused, thinking through the class schedule I’d attempted to memorize over the past week. Pulling out my phone to double-check, I scrolled through the picture I’d taken of my schedule earlier that morning before putting it away. “I have an English class in an hour and a half,” I said finally, relieved that I wouldn’t be late for that class, too. Not from oversleeping, at any rate. 

The boy called Yugi’s eyes perked up at this. “Oh! English with Professor Landon?” He asked, his tone excited. Nodding cautiously, I offered a slight shrug. “I think so!” I admitted after a pause, laughing slightly sheepishly. “Have you heard anything about how his class is?” 

“Ugh,” came Joey’s interrupting groan. “I had him last semester. He kept rambling about ‘the art of the sentence’ or something. It was torture. I never got higher than a ‘C’ on any of my papers!” The longer he talked, the more I couldn’t help but wonder as to where his accent was from — was he from Brooklyn? I’d only heard the accent in movies and TV shows, so it was hard to say, exactly. Perhaps I’d be able to ask him tactfully eventually, without somehow offending him… 

I glanced in Yugi’s direction, noticing with a giggle of my own that he was laughing at Joey’s dramatic words. “He’s not that bad, Joey,” Yugi said finally, waving off his comments. “Don’t scare her away from her gen-eds before she can even start them.” Dramatic as he seemed to be, I wasn’t sure that Joey could scare me away from any class with words alone. Before I could ask any further about this Professor Landon, Joey seemed to have already moved on from the subject. Trailing a few steps behind the pair as we filed out of the classroom, Joey seemed to become more and more excited about the concept of grabbing a mid-morning snack. Considering that I hadn’t exactly had much of a chance for breakfast in my mad dash to make it to class, perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea. Before I could consider where I was going to go to grab a bite, Joey had said my name — asking some question in my direction. 

“Oh! I’m sorry, I missed that. What did you ask?” I flushed slightly in embarrassment, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear as I watched him intently, not wanting to make him repeat the words more than once. 

Joey merely grinned and laughed this off, seemingly unbothered by the lapse. “You a little distracted? I’m like that when I get hungry, too. I asked if you wanted to come with us!” He paused, considering me for a moment, before elaborating further. Yugi merely walked alongside, hands shoved in his pockets and smiling between the two of us. “We’re going to the cafeteria to get breakfast. I think they have cinnamon rolls today — they’re the best.” Joey seemed to adopt an eager look in his eyes at this that made me giggle. Man, he sure likes his food… I grinned, before responding. “Sure! A cinnamon roll does actually sound great… I’m also not sure where the cafeteria is, so that might be nice future information to have.”

Mood already improved since my rough start for the day, I happily followed along behind Joey and Yugi as we made our way towards the Hillsummit dining hall, a name I recognized only from a map of the campus I had briefly gone over a few days prior. It was lucky that I had already made a few new friends, I realized fairly quickly during the trek in that direction! 

The cafeteria was crowded and full of students eating and waiting for their next classes, but I was excited nevertheless for getting used to the new campus where I was sure I would be spending much of my time over the next four years. Joey eagerly began pointing out his favorite foods and options in the cafeteria, and with a grin, I selected one of the earlier touted cinnamon rolls. Filling a cup of coffee as well, I made my way with the others towards the cashiers at the front of the room. I’d been mid-scramble for my wallet through my bag — scowling for a moment at the dirt stains on it from the splash it had, unfortunately, underwent earlier that morning — when Joey waved his hand to get my attention. 

“I got you this time, Marissa!” he said with a grin, holding his student ID out towards the bored-looking cashier. “Consider this an official welcome from us to the school.” I flushed slightly, but murmured a grateful word of thanks in his direction, bowing my head briefly. I was touched by the gesture and followed meekly behind them with cinnamon roll and coffee held tightly in hand. They worked their way across the cafeteria to a mostly-empty booth, where a girl and another guy were currently sitting. Eyeing the pointy-hair of the guy sitting there, I smiled politely as we approached. “Marissa! These are our friends — Téa and Tristan!” Yugi began introducing me excitedly, pointing to each of his friends in turn. 

I’d been just about to speak further when a sudden shove from behind me sent me stumbling to keep my balance. Coffee splashed all over my shirt and arms. Wincing and muttering a quick curse under my breath at the sharp sting of thankfully only semi-warm coffee, I whipped my head around quickly to see the offending person. 

It only took a moment to find the somewhat-guilty yet still haughty-looking face staring back at me.

It was Mr. Kaiba.


	2. Chapter 2: The First Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE FIRST DUEL.

With coffee dripping off of one arm and a now-thoroughly ruined blouse, I stared disbelieving over at Kaiba. He stared back, seemingly apathetic to the entire event. Before I could even gather my thoughts or words to offer any sort of retort, I heard a low growling from beside me — _Joey, I thought_ — and a concerned gasp from what could only be Téa behind me. 

“What the hell, Kaiba!” Joey said first, waving one arm angrily in my direction. “You aren’t even going to get a napkin or something? They don’t teach you any manners over there in the school of business?” A vein seemed to pulsate angrily in the side of Joey’s forehead. I sat my half-empty cup of coffee down with my cinnamon roll on the table next to me and turned back towards the others, hands raised in an attempt to mediate the situation. 

“It’s okay, really! I know it was an accident,” I said quickly, eyes wide as I glanced between Joey and Kaiba. I didn’t need to be the cause of a fight between the two, even if there was some obvious animosity between them already. It didn’t look like the two of them needed much motivation to get into any sort of skirmish. 

Mr. Kaiba glanced between the two of us for a moment, considering the situation with what I was already recognizing as a signature smirk. It seemed to have been an accident, but at the _least_ he could have apologized. I saw his eyes trail down to the front of my now-stained blouse. A quick glance down revealed that my shirt was now _far_ more skin-tight than it had been before and more _translucent_ than I would ever want in a shirt. I flushed, crossing my arms over my chest and turning away. Clearing my throat, I waved a hand in Joey’s direction — worried that a fight would break out in the cafeteria on my behalf. Flattered as I was that I had already met such nice people, I didn’t feel like being the cause of anyone getting hurt. 

”I feel like _I_ should be the one requiring an apology,” Kaiba was saying, drawing my attention away from my brief flash of embarrassment. “ _She_ was the one in my way, after all. It’s not my fault that she’s so clumsy… It’s no wonder, with the friends she seems to have already attracted.”

Joey didn’t seem to like this, based on the second low growl I heard emitted from his chest. Their friend called Tristan was standing now, too — one fist held up threateningly in Kaiba’s direction. My face flushed hotter at this show, embarrassed and flattered all in one. “Please — it’s really okay,” I said quickly, interjecting before anyone could make the situation any worse. “I’m sorry,” I continued, throwing the words pointedly in Kaiba’s direction. The ice in my tone was unmistakable, despite the bland words themselves. “Next time, I suppose I’ll have to spill my drink in your direction. So clumsy, you know. I just can’t help it.” My eyes narrowed in challenge, unmoving from the man’s direction. 

I was ready to say more when Yugi’s voice cut me off. “Marissa, you shouldn’t have to apologize to him,” he said quickly, purple eyes wide as he regarded Kaiba. “He should have been more careful. It’s your first day here, and already he’s been really rude!” Yugi shook his head, seeming to consider something for another moment before speaking again. His eyes narrowed in apparent concentration before his voice rang out loud and clear despite the loud cafeteria around us. 

“Seto Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!” Yugi exclaimed, one arm dramatically pointing out in the taller man’s direction. “If I win, you _will_ apologize to Marissa.” 

I wasn’t entirely sure what sort of _dueling_ they meant, but the idea was intriguing. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed, appreciative, and intrigued, I looked quickly between the two. Before Kaiba could give his answer, I was struck with an idea. Interjecting quickly, my eyes met Kaiba’s. “ _And_ pay for dry cleaning. This shirt was my favorite…” Silence fell for a moment as we all waited for Kaiba’s answer, but finally, his confident smirk returned — irritatingly enough. 

“Fine, Yugi. You’re on,” he answered simply. “But when you _lose_ , Marissa needs to find a new seat in algebra. Maybe the three of you can share a table. _I need my space._ ” Smirking, he turned suddenly on his heel, marching away from us with hands tucked neatly in his pockets. His jacket billowed out behind him dramatically. 

“One p.m. in the quad,” he added loudly as he moved away towards a table on the opposite side of the room, not bothering to turn his head to ensure that we’d heard him or not. _What a dick._

I frowned after him, before turning my head back towards the group behind me. I hesitated for a moment as I considered them. Face flushed and shirt still soaked, I’d been about to excuse myself to the bathroom when a hand shot out towards me, blue jacket clutched in it. Surprised by the sudden gesture, I followed the muscled-arm up to Joey’s face — an apologetic expression in place as he seemed to pointedly look away from the borderline-inappropriate blouse. “Go on, take it,” he insisted, shaking the jacket as if to emphasize his point. “It’s the least I can do to help.” Touching the jacket with one hand after a brief pause, I hesitated. “Are you sure?” I asked after a pause, biting one lip as I considered his expression. He nodded and offered me a reassuring smile that seemed to almost make me flush harder. Nodding, I accepted the jacket. 

Only after attempting to dab off any remaining coffee with a generous amount of napkins did I finally pull the blue jacket on. It was too big and hung off of me awkwardly, but it wasn’t at least advertising my bra to the world… It smelled nice, too — an unexpected bonus. Sighing and finally taking a seat in the booth next to Yugi and Téa, with Joey taking a seat across from us next to the boy called Tristan, I glanced around at my new acquaintances. I was glad, at least, that something nice was coming out of the day. _Friends_ , maybe. Finding people to rely on and confide in had been a concern of mine with coming to a new school after the semester had already started and those bonds had already begun forming between the other students. I’d expected it to be much harder to do, in retrospect. Perhaps I’d just gotten lucky.

“Well, that was certainly an _exciting_ way to start your first day,” Téa commented, shaking her head as we recounted the already rocky start with Seto Kaiba in our first class. Tristan rolled his eyes at the mention of him, slamming one fist dramatically on the table. Téa’s tray wobbled and she shot him a reproachful glance at this. “Kaiba’s just a big coward,” Tristan responded, oblivious to Téa and obviously still irritated by the short run-in. “You’d better _kick his ass_ later, Yugi. He needs to be knocked down a peg or two.”

Tristan’s words suddenly reminded me of the _dueling_ business, and with a quick turn of my head, my eyes met Yugi’s. I hesitated for a moment before I spoke. I didn't want to sound uneducated or uncultured for not knowing something that was obviously so important and widely-known to them, but I figured that it might be worse if I showed up later _not_ knowing anything about what was going to happen…

“I have a question,” I said finally, carefully. “What do you mean by ‘dueling’ him? Like a fistfight? Fencing match? Cup pong?” I tried to keep my tone light and my words joking, despite the obvious obliviousness of my question. They didn’t need to think I was clumsy _and_ dumb, to boot. 

Joey simply grinned, shaking his head at my examples. “Nah, none of those,” he answered, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a stack of unfamiliar-looking cards. “You’ve never played Duel Monsters, Marissa? It’s a card game, and Yugi happens to be the _best_ player there is. There’s no way he can lose to a scumbag like Kaiba.”

Yugi smiled modestly at this, his cheeks flushing slightly red at the compliment. “Joey’s pretty good, himself!” Yugi quipped back. “He finished _second_ in the Duelist Kingdom championship last summer.” 

Joey seemed to sit up a little straighter at this, obviously proud of the achievement. “Yeah, well Yugi finished _first_. Maybe after you see your first duel later, we’ll teach you how to play! You couldn’t have two better teachers.” 

Mood already boosted from just minutes prior, I returned their smiles with my own grin. Raising one hand to push a lock of hair behind my ear, I nodded appreciatively. “Well, I’m looking forward to it! And I want to thank you guys for helping stand up for me… I really appreciate it. _Truly._ ”

* * *

My next class, interpretive literature, seemed to pass in a blur. Thankfully Seto Kaiba was free from that particular roster. Throughout the class, I attempted to fill Misa, my roommate and best friend, in on the progression of events that day. I introduced her to Yugi and Téa, who shared the class with us as well. After the class was finally over and the clock struck 12:50, we were all on our feet. 

“Damn it, I can’t believe I have to miss my first duel!” Misa sighed loudly as we packed up our bags. “And it’s being fought in your honor! I’m so upset.” She pouted in my direction, flipping a lock of hair over one shoulder before sliding her backpack on. 

She opened her mouth to speak again when she was cut off by a tall, slender man with long dark hair, held back by a red hairband. He raised one arm adorned with bracelets and armbands in our direction, offering a half-wave and a grin as he came to a stop by our desks. “Hey there,” he greeted, green eyes shifting between the two of us. “I just wanted to introduce myself. Duke Devlin. You might have heard of me?”

Misa paused, offering me an unsure glance, before turning back towards Duke. “No. We haven’t,” she answered simply, shrugging. He seemed to deflate momentarily, before straightening back up. Apparently attempting to regain his composure, he gestured towards himself. “My family owns the game shop downtown! The ‘Black Clown’. You ever been?”

“We haven’t, actually,” Misa replied again, before turning on her heel. “Sorry, I have class and Marissa has somewhere to be. Bye!” She turned, tugging on my arm to lead me out of the classroom. I shot her a bewildered look in the hallway outside, and she shrugged lightly. “He kept staring at me,” she muttered by way of explanation, scowling for a moment. “It was getting really annoying. Like — I don’t care about his _game shop_ , are you kidding?”

She waved a hand, obviously already over the incident as we walked along, making our way out of the building. Téa and Yugi were standing by the doors, apparently having waited for us. I offered them a smile and a wave as we approached. The sleeve of Joey’s jacket fell down over my hand as I walked for likely the fiftieth time that day. Sighing, I pushed it back into place, pausing alongside the two of them. Misa, having to go in the exact opposite direction from the quad for her next class, shot me another sad pout. 

“Marissa, you owe me a story when I get out of class! I want to hear _everything._ ” 

I simply shot her a thumbs up and a wink, before turning back towards Yugi and Téa. “Alright — I’m ready to see my first duel! Even if I’m going to be completely lost,” I said finally, my tone somewhat sheepish as Yugi pushed the door open, holding it for Téa and myself. “I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. Joey mentioned that you’re kind of on a winning streak, Yugi… I know you’ll do great, in that case!” I tried to sound confident, my nerves aside. I certainly didn’t want to be the cause of the duel that lost him any sort of winning streak or credibility. I felt guilty enough for the sour mood I’d inadvertently brought to their lunch table. 

Yugi seemed just as chipper as ever, nevertheless. “My heart’s in the cards, Marissa,” he said simply, not turning to face me as we approached the quad. “We won’t lose.”

I thought it was a little odd that he’d said the word _’we’_ , considering that it was a one-versus-one duel, but decided that it was likely best not to question it. I assumed that perhaps he’d just meant this as a group-motivation thing. 

We approached the quad, where a small group of people had already gathered. Yugi’s side of the grassy duel area had far more people, I couldn’t help but notice smugly. My eyes lit up as Joey turned around and waved in our direction. Reaching them, I waved back more excitedly than I'd intended — feeling somewhat stupid the moment I did. “I’m excited!” I said, not wanting to give on to the extent of my nerves regarding the duel. “Will one of you help explain things to me as they happen, at least? I feel like I’m going to be _totally_ clueless.”

Tristan seemed to have perked up at this, but Joey cut him off with a chuckle and enthusiastic nod of his head. “Of course we will, Marissa! You’ll be an expert by the time we’re done teaching ya’!” 

“An expert in what — bad hairstyles and even worse fashion? That’s about all she’ll learn from the likes of you,” came a voice behind us, snarky and recognizably-rude in nature. Seto Kaiba had arrived. Joey’s smile fell and the earlier irritation was back — he certainly had that Brooklyn rage, if there was any way else to describe it. 

“Let’s just get started, Kaiba,” Yugi was saying, cutting off any retort that Joey had been forming. Joey simply shook his head, seemingly brushing off the moment, before crossing his arms over his chest. “Yuge’s got this,” Joey said simply, eyes narrowing as he watched Yugi and Kaiba affix some kind of strange devices to their left arms. “Duel disks,” he added, apparently having noticed my confused expression. “They're used in duels! It’s a new KaibaCorp invention, unfortunately. That smarmy bastard.” The last part was muttered under his breath, and I attempted to ignore it — not wanting to further his rage. 

I looked up at Yugi as I attempted to inspect the Duel Disk closer, despite standing several feet away. His face drew my attention away from this, however. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and with an under-his-breath mutter of what sounded like _’Yu-gi-ohhhh!’_ I watched in silent wonder as he seemed to suddenly become much taller and slimmer — and much more attractive, at that. My mouth dropped open, shocked. “W-What just happened to Yugi?" I asked, brows furrowed in confusion as I looked between Téa, Tristan, and Joey. They all stared back at me blankly, apparently not having minded what seemed to be a _massive_ and obvious change in their friend. 

“What do you mean, Marissa? Nothing’s happened to him — he’s just in the zone!” Joey said with a shrug before his eyes returned to the duel in front of us. “Look now, the duel’s starting!”


	3. Chapter 3: Winners and Losers

Watching a game that one knew nothing about proved more confusing than Marissa had initially anticipated. Kaiba had announced the start of the duel without much decorum, simply yelling, _”It’s time to duel!”_ to which the newer, taller version of Yugi had simply nodded. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as they pulled the first cards of their decks into their hands. Both players stood in silence for a moment as they considered the cards carefully. It was intense, truthfully, for what Marissa had initially thought was just going to be a simple card game. Nevertheless, she was all the more touched that Yugi had offered to fight this duel in her honor. She was basically a stranger to him, and yet his kindness to her seemed endless. Him and Joey both…

It was a nice change from how people typically were, in Marissa’s experience. Most of the people from her home town and old schools were more like Seto Kaiba, although perhaps to a lesser degree. Cold, harsh, unforgiving, unkind. They didn’t care about anyone but themselves, and certainly didn’t care much for friendships or fostering healthy relationships with others. _Nor did he seem to care much about being any sort of welcoming to a new student…_

Maybe a loss in this duel would be good for Seto’s apparent ego. It likely needed to be knocked down a few pegs, from what Marissa could already see from their brief interactions thus far. She only hoped that Yugi’s apparent confidence also meant some amount of proficiency in the game, fearing that it might all be false bravado instead of true skill.

Seto was playing his first card, and Marissa’s eyes focused again on the center of the quad, where their duel was to be held. She noticed for the first time two large, metal pillars on either end of their proclaimed dueling area. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she regarded these, wondering just what they could be for — was this area _meant_ just for this purpose? How often did these students duel?

Joey seemed to notice her confusion, based on the low chuckle she heard from her left. “This area was set aside for duels. It’s a popular pastime!” He said, as though this was plenty of explanation for the odd set-up. Misa hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort, although perhaps she hadn’t known… Her thoughts were cut off suddenly as a form seemed to materialize on the playing area between Seto and Yugi. They’d both played monsters. Seto had played some kind of _raider_ in attack mode, and Yugi had played ‘Queen’s knight’ in defense mode, or so she thought he’d announced. The characters were suddenly standing there before the two of them and facing the others’ direction. Yugi’s was crouched down protectively, a marked difference between the offensive stance Seto’s monster had taken. Marissa gasped lightly, blinking to ensure that her eyes weren’t simply playing tricks on her. 

“I thought this was just a card game,” she murmured, shock evident in her tone. “This seems extravagant.” Téa and Joey both seemed to exchange a surprised glance, before turning back towards her. Téa’s face lit up, apparently excited at the chance to explain. 

“It _is_ a card game,” Téa began, motioning her hand in the general direction of the game. “This area of the quad is designated for them. They have holograms and everything.” Marissa was dumbfounded at how far the school had even gone for the game, but she was impressed nevertheless. How much money was this school funded with…?

Joey grinned at her expression, laughing as he shook his head in her direction. “It’s _more_ than just a game around here, Marissa. It’s important.” He left it at this, seemingly only half-joking as far as she could gather. Still somewhat confused, and more than a little unnerved at the apparent widespread acceptance of this children’s card game, she couldn’t help but wonder why she’d never heard much of it before. Card games had never been her thing, but if this one was so widely beloved, perhaps she’d need to give it a try. 

“Do you think you guys could teach me sometime?” Marissa asked after a pause, watching curiously as Seto activated a magic card — _spell sanctuary?_ She wasn’t sure what was happening, but whatever it was, the game seemed intense. _Either that, or it was just reflective of the obvious rivalry between Seto and Yugi._ Whatever history they had between them, it was evident that the two weren’t exactly close friends. She watched as both Yugi and Seto reached into their decks, pulling one card each before returning glaring expressions back towards the field before them.

Téa quickly shook her head at Marissa’s question, again drawing her eyes from the field. “Oh no — you don’t want me teaching you. I’ve only played four or five times _ever_. Yugi’s the best,” she added, nodding in his direction. Joey scoffed lightly at this, although he was still smiling. “Yuge might be the best, but I’m not nothing to sneeze at either, Téa! I could show you the ropes, Marissa!” 

“That would be great, thank you! Maybe I can get pointers from you both sometime,” Marissa added in response, returning his smile and feeling more excited at the idea than she had thought she would when it came to a _children’s game_. Unable to help the red flush that seemed to be creeping up her neck, she covered this up with a quick clearing of her throat as she motioned back towards the game at hand. “So… what’s happening now? Why is Seto smirking like that?”

Joey looked up, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. “What! Uh oh… Kaiba just played a cost down magic card. This is bad news…” Téa didn’t seem to understand just why exactly that particular card meant bad news, thankfully, which helped Marissa not feel quite as lost as she had initially. She waited a moment for him to explain before finally prompting, “What does that do? Why hasn’t he just attacked?” 

Joey shook his head, looking away from the cards on the field with a grim look on his face. “Well, Yuge played ‘Swords of Revealing Light’ right off the bat,” he waved generally towards his side of the field. “That holds Kaiba off from attacking for three turns… But that rat Kaiba’s monsters get downgraded two levels this turn. Which means that he would need less to sacrifice—“ Joey was suddenly cut off as Kaiba’s voice cut out across the quad, drawing everyone’s attention back to the game at play. His raider monster, whatever it was called, had been broken into tiny shards of hologram in some apparent sacrifice, ready for something else to take its place.

“ _Behold_ — the great and almighty power of my blue eyes white dragon!” 

_Whatever that was._ Based on everyone’s reaction and even the scowling expression change on Yugi’s face, however, it didn’t seem good. Marissa swallowed dryly, suddenly feeling nervous. Was she about to ruin Yugi’s winning streak because he’d agreed to duel on her behalf? It was just a shirt — not even something _worth_ fighting over, when it came down to it. Coffee would have probably washed out in the _normal_ washing machine, now that she thought of it…

While a low murmur crossed over the gathered crowd around the ongoing duel, Téa’s voice suddenly cut in loudly over them. “Come on Yugi, you’ve got this! Remember that all of us have your back!” The over-enthusiastic and surprisingly emotional yell of encouragement took Marissa off guard, and she nearly jumped again at Joey’s loud _whoop_ of agreement at Téa’s words. They were intense, that much was obvious — but it was heartwarming in a way to see how much they cared for their friend.

“Yea, Yuge! Kick his ass!” Joey continued, grinning as he glanced between the duel before turning his gaze back towards Marissa. She smiled in response, letting out her own attempt at a yell of encouragement at this unspoken prompting. It felt lackluster in her ears, compared to Téa and Joey’s impassioned words, but it was better than standing there silently. Marissa’s own gaze turned towards Téa, surprised by how seriously they all seemed to take dueling here. She’d never realized just how _big_ the event seemed to be. 

Téa’s large eyes shone for a moment as she considered Yugi and Seto, her expression worried and halfway frantic as she took in the precarious position Seto’s newest summoned monster seemed to put Yugi in. It was a large white dragon, its holographic blue eyes somehow shining dangerously in the hologram emitted by the surprisingly-efficient technology. He’d accompanied the monster with an unknown facedown card, which Marissa eyed warily. 

Yugi seemed less concerned now, however — the only hint of any worry on his face being that of a single line semi-furrowing between his brows. Marissa watched with bated breath as he seemed to consider the cards in his hand for a moment as well as the two monsters in defense position on his side of the field, before his hand reached to pull another from the top of his deck. Purple irises were obscured momentarily as he closed his eyes. He seemed almost peaceful, although she couldn’t understand the action. As he finally pulled a new card, a confident smirk seemed to replace the previous serious expression.

“It’s the heart of da cards,” Joey murmured lowly, although his words didn’t serve to make her much less confused than she already was. “It’s hard to explain… But trust me on this, it’s important to believe in your deck. Yugi _never_ loses.”

This didn’t help much to assuage her fears, although Joey’s confidence in his friend’s abilities when it came to this game seemed admirable. Maybe Téa was right, and she was underestimating the importance of a support system as strong as the one surrounding Yugi seemed to be. Certainly a few cheers of encouragement wouldn’t hurt much, at any rate, although Marissa couldn’t help but feel that she herself might be more distracted by them than helped, if she were in that situation.

The card he pulled seemed to be the one he wanted, as a low smirk seemed to cross his face. “You’ve become overconfident, Kaiba!” Yugi announced in what seemed like a much deeper voice than what she’d recalled from before the duel. “First, I activate the magic card _Change of Heart_. Your Blue Eyes becomes _mine_ now, Kaiba.” Seto’s smirk seemed to falter just slightly at this. The dragon disappeared in a glimmer from Seto’s side of the field and reappeared on Yugi’s side of the field 

“That must be the card Yugi chose in the beginning when Kaiba played Spell Sanctuary,” Joey was musing. Although Marissa wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, she nodded nevertheless — somewhat understanding at least the overall dynamic of the game. Téa gasped as a realization occurred to her. “Joey,” Téa began, eyeing the monsters on Yugi’s side for a moment before continuing. “Is he just going to attack? Take Kaiba out here and now? He’s got enough attack points…” 

Joey frowned, his own eyes shifting towards Seto’s side of the field now, to where the lone face down card remained. _Seto's only standing protection, maybe?_ “It might be risky… Hard telling what Kaiba might have under there. I’m not sure what Yuge’s planning.” Whatever it was, Marissa only hoped it would be better than whatever Seto had up his sleeve next. At least his turn would still be paused from attacking for two more turns, from what Joey had said earlier… Marissa let out a bated breath as Yugi held up a card. 

“Next, I tribute your Blue Eyes and my Queen’s Knight to summon my ever-faithful _Dark Magician!_ ” Téa clapped at this, her eyes shining excitedly. It appeared that Yugi hadn’t been willing to take the risk that Joey had mentioned — Marissa only hoped that this hadn’t been a mistake. She bit her lower lip, anxiety seeping from her expression as her wide eyes stared unblinking, waiting for the next move. “Dark Magician, attack his life points directly with _dark magic attack!_ ” The counter shifted down on Seto’s side of the field, now showing _1500_ life points, as compared to Yugi’s untouched 4000. 

Seto held up a card, seemingly not phased by his monster’s sudden and untimely destruction from the field. “Jokes on you, Muto. You didn’t think I would let you take my Blue Eyes from me _that_ easily, did you? Are you _seriously_ that naïve?” Marissa wanted to slap the cocky expression from his face. “I activate monster reborn! Let’s see you defeat my all-powerful dragon a _second_ time.”

The dragon re-emerged onto Seto’s side of the field, large and menacing compared to Yugi’s magician. The dragon roared, virtual smoke furling from its nostrils as it stared down the opposing monster. One more turn and it would be able to attack… “I end my turn,” Seto finished, eyes meeting Yugi’s once again. “But when you can’t hide behind your spell card like a _scared child_ , you will see who the true King of Games is!”

Marissa bit back a laugh. “He’s got a flare for the dramatics, doesn’t he?” Marissa asked, quirking one eyebrow up and nudging Joey with an elbow. His over-large jacket slid down her arms again at the motion. Joey looked down in moderate surprise. 

“Nyeh… I guess,” he responded, one hand raising to scratch the back of his head. “They just both take it real seriously, you know? Kaiba’s always been kind of an asshole about it, though.” That much was clearly evident. 

“He’s not the most pleasant guy,” Téa agreed, overhearing their sentiments. “He’s truly awful to Yugi sometimes, even if Yugi has been nothing but nice... He doesn't understand the true importance of friendship.” She sniffed derisively, her comments apparently coming from some deep-seated place of offense taken at Seto’s general demeanor — that, or his past comments and actions towards her and her friends. 

Marissa nodded, understanding crossing her features. “Does he not have many friends then, I take it? That must be kind of sad…” Joey shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, but Téa’s flash of guilt over her expression confirmed her statement. Maybe _that_ was the problem — he needed _friends_. Confidants and people he could rely on. Even though she’d only been there a day, she could already feel herself becoming friends with Joey, Yugi, and Téa. Plus, with Misa as a best friend, she had the best support system _already_. Her anger almost completely dissipated and was instead replaced with something akin to _pity_ at thought of the boy. 

Yugi had turned his magician into defense mode, and the creature on the field immediately crouched down, arms crossed in ready defense at his words. His summoned another monster onto the field, drawing Marissa’s attention to it as a large, brown and furry _something_ appeared on Yugi’s side of the field. Her nose scrunched, and apparently Seto’s thoughts had been just as incredulous as he let out a loud laugh at the sight of it. 

“Kuriboh?! _That_ runt is going to save you from the almighty power of my Blue Eyes White Dragon?” His quirked lip and expression of superiority were back, and he sneered at Yugi, his arms crossed over his chest. 

Yugi simply returned a serene, unreadable expression, and placed one card face down. “I set a card face down, and end my turn,” he finished, his own arms crossing over his chest in a mirroring of Seto’s posture. “Make your move, Kaiba.”

It almost reminded her of an intense chess match — each move was thoughtfully considered and strategized as they went, although it seemed like _sheer luck_ when it came to which cards they might draw. But what Joey had meant about believing in the heart of the cards suddenly returned, piquing her curiosity once again. That was something she would have to ask Yugi for clarification later. 

Seto pulled his next card, eyed it briefly, before setting it onto the duel disk — joining his other still-remaining face-down card. “I set a card as well. You’ll see who has the last laugh, Yugi… I end my turn. But _next turn_ , you **will** face the power of my monster!” 

Yugi seemed unconcerned with this, instead reaching to pull his own card from his deck. Purple eyes glanced through the field and his hand for a moment, before he moved to set it down onto his disk. “I activate _magic formula_ , and equip this to my Dark Magician! This raises its attack strength by 700 points. Now, with an attack strength of _3200_ , this makes it more than strong enough to take down your Blue Eyes, Kaiba!” Yugi paused for a moment, seemingly for his own attempt at dramatic effect, before continuing.

”I move Dark Magician into attack mode. Now, _dark magic attack!”_

Seto’s audible gasp drew Marissa’s eyes as he watched the Dark Magician attack his dragon, which seemed to burst into thousands of fragments of blue light. _“Ahh!”_ he’d yelled in surprise, although once the sudden shock of the attack and subsequent destruction of his monster had worn off, he’d let out an unexpected _laugh_. “You’ve done it now, Yugi! Your attack allows me to activate _ring of destruction_ on your dark magician. And to protect _my own_ life points, I activate _ring of defense_!”

This seemed detrimental, and Téa gripped one of Marissa’s arms in sudden fear as she watched the duel unfold. “This doesn’t look good,” Joey murmured lowly, echoing their thoughts. 

Yugi held up a hand suddenly, yelling, “Not so fast, Kaiba! Activate magic jammer!” He discarded a card in his hand at this. 

“Yes!” One of Joey’s fists pumped into the air in a celebratory motion, and at Marissa’s fearful and quizzical expression, he grinned down at her. “Magic jammer will block ring of defense, meaning that Kaiba’s about to take out _his own_ life points!” 

Kaiba’s head was in his hands as he considered the glowing score of _zero_ on his own counter, with Yugi’s still remaining at 800. 

_Yugi won!_

Marissa cheered along with Téa and a slew of other students at this success, and with a returned smile, Yugi stepped down off the field. “That’s what happens when you believe in _friendship_ ,” he said sagely, nodding in their direction as he considered them. “Thank you _all_ for your support.”

Marissa merely nodded, shocked momentarily into silence at the whirlwind of thoughts which had accompanied the end of the duel. She wouldn’t have had much to say, regardless, as Seto came storming up to them — a small, dark-haired boy trailing in his wake. “You’ll see next time. This duel was a _farce_ ,” he sneered, turning his nose up in their direction. The small boy nodded in agreement, his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes wide as he regarded them each in turn. He paused when he saw Marissa — his expression curious but guarded. 

“You’re the new girl?” the boy asked, tilting his head to the side, although he didn’t wait for her response before continuing. “I’m Mokuba Kaiba. Seto’s little brother.” He lifted his head high at this, proudly offering a smile as he introduced himself. His attention turned quickly from Marissa and in Yugi’s direction, instead. “That was a good duel, but Seto’s got you next time, Yugi!”

Marissa blinked in surprise at this exchange, hesitantly returning his smile despite Seto’s glaring expression beside him — a contrast as stark as night and day. 

Yugi took these comments in stride, nodding in their direction. “I look forward to our next match, Kaiba. I’m sure it will be honorable and _interesting_ , as always.” Seto rolled his eyes at this, but said nothing further in Yugi’s direction, seemingly at a loss for comebacks for the time being. 

Joey cleared his throat, interrupting the conversation as he stepped in. “A win is a win, Kaiba! And you made a promise to Marissa if you lost…” He raised an eyebrow in Seto’s direction. Apparently refusing to address Joey directly, Seto’s eyes finally met Marissa’s gaze — something he seemed to have been avoiding before. 

Blue met Marissa’s own golden eyes. They were cold, unforgiving, and harsh. She withered for a moment under his gaze, before he finally spoke. “Fine. You can drop the shirt off at the Kaiba Corp building this evening.” Turning on his heel, he waved a hand in Mokuba’s direction. “Come, Mokuba. Don’t you have a recital soon?”

 _Seto Kaiba had a brother_. Marissa couldn’t help but ponder this information as she watched the two walk further away from their gathered group on the quad. She wasn’t entirely surprised by the revelation, considering how little she knew about him, but she _was_ surprised by the cold attitude he afforded even his own flesh and blood. “What a miserable prick,” she muttered, half under her breath. 

Despite not intending the words for anyone in particular, Joey laughed in reaction, apparently having picked up on the gist of them. He nudged her again with his elbow. “You got that right, Marissa. Guess you’re a pretty good judge of character, huh?” Laughing still, he turned back towards the remainder of the group. Tristan had rejoined them now, having apparently run over after his class to try and catch the end of the match, to no avail. Marissa smiled cordially back in greeting, offering him a small wave as he widely grinned and returned the gesture. 

They were nice, these new _friends_ of hers. She felt immensely lucky. 

As though summoned by the thought of friendship itself, she heard a familiar yell behind her and turned, her grin widening at sight of her best friend. “Misa!” Marissa greeted, waving her over. “Yugi won his duel!” 

Misa’s own lips quirked upwards, amused at the excitement evident still on everyones’ faces. “I can see that! I guess that Kaiba dude split after he lost?” she added, careening her neck as she attempted to ascertain if he might still be in the vicinity. When she didn’t see his telltale pissed expression, she shrugged and turned back towards the group. 

Misa seemed to get on well with the group off the bat, too, which Marissa was truthfully relieved of. She didn’t need her _new_ friends and _best_ friend having any sort of skirmish or disagreements. Having to get accustomed to a new school and having to deal with Seto Kaiba were enough — she didn’t need any further issues on her plate. 

Yugi seemed back to his normal self, at least. His taller and deeper-voiced dueling counterpart was gone now, it seemed. It was a phenomenon that boggled her mind and left Marissa with more questions than answers, but she bit them back. No one else seemed surprised or concerned by it, and there was no telling if Yugi might be offended by the line of questioning. It was simply _odd_. 

It was just too bad that Misa hadn’t been there to witness it as well. At least then Marissa would have had someone to discuss the event with. 

Nevertheless, as Joey began retelling the events from the duel for Misa and Tristan’s sake, Yugi tapped on Marissa’s shoulder, effectively calling her attention. She tilted her head inquisitively as she turned to fully face him. 

“I’m glad everything turned out the way it did today,” Yugi said, his tone friendly and his expression kind. “Even if you _did_ have to get hot coffee poured on you, I’m glad that you’re part of the group, now! Just ignore Kaiba. His intentions are usually, probably good. He’s just hard to read…” 

While Marissa wasn’t sure that he was right about this, she nodded nevertheless. Yugi seemed like the kind of guy who would try and see the best in everyone, regardless of how they treated him personally. But it was a refreshing viewpoint, and she refused to attempt to dissuade him from it, even if she thought somewhat differently about her first few run-ins with the taller boy. 

“I want _you_ to know that I’m thankful to you for standing up for me. All of you,” she added, noticing that Téa and Joey’s eyes were in their direction. “It started as kind of a horrible day, but you guys helped make it better.” Her eyes shone brightly, if glistening slightly at the admission. “I hope that we can be friends,” Marissa continued, hoping that her feelings about their group were at least _somewhat_ reciprocated towards her. Immediately nervous that perhaps she’d misread the situation, she was relieved when Téa threw an arm around her and the others smiled in her direction. 

“Of course!” Téa had immediately responded, her words intense and immediately reassuring. “Like Yugi said, you’re part of the group now. If Kaiba messes with you, he messes with all of us!”

This went on for a few minutes more before Misa finally cut in. Despite her amused tone and expression, she held up one arm — tapping an imaginary watch. “Marissa!” she exclaimed, pseudo-exacerbated. “I already have an _essay_ I need to start, and you need to change so you can drop that shirt off… Are you ready to go home?”

Marissa nodded quickly, realizing with a start how late the day already was. If she’d planned on getting to Kaiba Corp and back home early enough to get anything done, they would have to go sooner than later.

* * *

The walk home had passed quickly, thanks to all of the new conversation topics from the day. It had been an exciting, frustrating, informative day, to say the least. 

When they arrived home and had trudged up the stairs to their apartment, backpacks weighing heavily on their shoulders, Marissa had been surprised to find a package sitting neatly on the striped doormat. Reaching down to pick it up, she smiled in quiet familiarity at the name of her grandmother on the front. 

“Probably baked some cookies or something,” she joked, holding the package up in Misa’s direction. “I’ll open it later. _And_ I’ll share if you’d drive me to Kaiba Corp?” the girl added, batting her eyelashes at her friend as they shut the apartment door behind them. 

Misa rolled her eyes, shooing Marissa in the direction of her room. “Uh, duh! That was the plan. Go get changed!” 

Marissa nodded quickly, throwing the package down on the table and hurrying to change. Her mind was focused entirely on having to possibly face Kaiba _again_ that day. She was unaware that that fateful package's very contents might change the course of her life, _forever_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! comments and kudos are all appreciated   
> (if anyone wants to see the duel play-by-play........ https://i.imgur.com/9H6YREl.png - I tried. thank u to @bigjoeylover [aka my resident yugioh expert] for the help)

**Author's Note:**

> xoxo


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